


every new beginning

by grahamcracker76



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Friendship/Love, Hope, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23537866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grahamcracker76/pseuds/grahamcracker76
Summary: It starts after Endor.
Relationships: Luke Skywalker/Han Solo
Comments: 5
Kudos: 71





	every new beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place post-ROTJ. In this version of events, Han and Leia have a talk after Jabba’s and agree that emotions were running high at Cloud City and they would be better off as friends.
> 
> Fic title: from “Closing Time” by Semisonic because I will never be over 90s music.

It starts after Endor. 

After Endor, an atmosphere of giddy elation settles in. The Empire has been defeated at last, after all - it’s a very good cause for celebration when there has been precious little to celebrate for so long. The news spreads quickly to every corner of the galaxy, and soon the celebrations are well under way, complete with music, dancing, and fireworks.

But after Endor, there is one notable absence from the celebrations. Luke has been missing for hours, and Han feels each minute of his absence keenly, as though he were missing a limb. So, after waiting just about as long as he can stand, Han gives in and goes to find him.

“You know where he is?” he asks Leia, figuring that if there’s one person Luke might have told, it would be his sister. Sister… now that particular revelation had come as a shock, though not an entirely unpleasant one. It was only later that Han realized why he had felt so relieved - he’d been getting all hot and bothered over the idea of Luke and Leia being together, not realizing that what was really bothering him was the idea of Luke being with anyone who wasn’t him. He’d been jealous - not that he’ll ever admit it to Luke, of course. Or Leia, when she already knows far too much for Han’s comfort.

Leia, who is currently giving him one of her all-knowing looks like she knows exactly what is on his mind better than he does. “He’s just through there,” she says, pointing to a cluster of trees at the edge of the clearing. “And Han - be careful. He’s hurting now, even if he doesn’t want to show it.”

“Careful - I’m always careful,” Han says.

Leia rolls her eyes. “Go get him, flyboy,” she tells him, “and if you hurt him, I’ll kill you.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” Han responds gravely. Skywalkers - crazy, the lot of them. 

Shaking his head, he makes his way through the crowd and the the thickening forest until he comes upon a clearing which is ablaze with the light of an enormous fire. It’s a pyre, Han realizes. It’s a funeral pyre, and standing at the foot of it is Luke.

Han doesn’t announce himself. He feels sure Luke already knows that he’s there - indeed, he doesn’t seem at all surprised when Han steps up next to him.

“We miss you out there,” Han says quietly, testing the waters. 

He glances sideways, watching as the firelight plays across Luke’s face, painting his skin gold. Luke doesn’t say a word in response - just keeps staring straight ahead, his gaze fixed on the crackling flames.

Han holds back a sigh and observes the pyre, still burning brightly in the darkness. If he squints, he can make out the outline of a uniform, the sharp angles of a black mask.

 _Oh_ , he realizes. _Vader_.

That had been another shock - not only were Luke and Leia siblings, but their father was none other than Darth Vader himself. That itself would have been hard enough for anyone to take in… and then Luke told them how Vader had turned, in his final moments, and saved him from the Emperor. It was enough to give anyone mixed feelings, to say the least. And here Luke was, mourning a father he had never really known, the villain who had tormented them for so long.

No wonder he had wanted to be alone.

No wonder he _shouldn’t_ be alone, Han thinks vehemently.

He swallows. Glances at Luke. Remembers Leia’s words back at the camp. _He’s hurting, even if he doesn’t want to show it._ “Do you want to talk about it?” he asks.

Luke closes his eyes for a beat, then two. “No,” he says.

 _Figures_ , Han thinks. He wouldn’t want to talk either, in Luke’s place. He tries again. “Want some company?”

Luke sighs. “Not particularly,” he says.

“Well, tough,” Han tells him. “You’ve got some.”

Luke lets out his breath in a huff, and Han looks over to see Luke staring at him, fond and exasperated all at once. Han lifts a brow and Luke rolls his eyes, before turning back to face the pyre.

They don’t say another word. But that’s okay, Han thinks. Because he gets it, he really does. For some things, there are no words. Some things, you can’t talk about, until you’re ready. Sometimes, you just need someone to be there, and say nothing at all. That, Han can do.

They stand there together, watching the crackling flames in silence for a long time. At some point, Luke’s hand finds its way into Han’s, and they don’t say anything about that either. Their fingers twine together automatically, and it’s the simplest thing in the world. It feels like they’ve done this before hundreds of times, for all that it’s actually the first.

And in the past, Han might have called something like this complicated, to say the least. For the Han of the past, feelings were something he just didn’t do. When feelings were involved, things got messy, and no one was worth that. But then there was Luke, and Luke changed everything.

Because as Han stands there holding Luke’s hand, the moments passing by with each beat of his heart, he doesn’t feel the overwhelming urge to run. He only wants to stay there, beside Luke, for as long as he can. And that is when Han knows that this is real, and true, and good. Because it doesn’t feel like the end of the world.

It feels like the beginning.

***

E N D

***


End file.
